Frequently Asked Questions

The person nominated to feature on the page must be able to share the essence of either hope or pride in their personal story. We are wanting to promote stories of everyday South Aucklanders.

How do you decide who is featured on the page?

If your story fits with our vision i.e bringing hope or pride to our community then it is more likely to be featured. The decision to feature stories will depend on scheduling and/or themes, and is ultimately at the discretion of HOSA staff/admin.

When did HOSA start?

Sunday 21st September, 2014

Where did the idea come from?

The idea originated from Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York Facebook page.

HOSA has evolved from its origins, but stays true to the idea of using stories to promote pride and hope in the South Auckland community.

Do you have to live in South Auckland to be featured?

Ideally, as this is a page promoting those who call Southside home. However, consideration may be given to stories that link back to, or are exceptional.

How can I get someone else’s story to HOSA?

If you know of someone that would be perfect to feature on our page then we would love to hear from you. We need the direct consent from that person, and ideally we would like them to answer our questions for themselves. Do not hesitate to contact us to discuss this, and/or send us their contact details. Click here to nominate.

Where will my story be used?

HOSA reserves the right to utilise stories and photos collected through our website/FB page on any media, advertising or publishing outlet. This includes but is not limited to, Facebook, Instagram, Manukau Courier.

A consent form will need to be completed by the subject of the story prior to accepting for publishing by HOSA.

What does HOSA mean by ‘South Auckland’?

HOSA understands South Auckland means different things to different people, but currently focuses on the following suburbs – Mangere, Otahuhu, Otara, Papatoetoe, Manukau, Manurewa, Takanini, Papakura.

This is not exhaustive and we are willing to consider stories from people who feel that their suburb ‘fits’ into South Auckland.

Where to from here for HOSA?We published our book ‘Real, Raw and Relatable’ in October 2016!!! This was made up of over 120 of the stories we have collected since this project started. We then donated over 1000 of these books to south Auckland schools, NGO’s, GP’s, Marae’s and libraries.

This year our focus is to get our stories out into the community using other mediums alongside our Facebook and Instagram. We want to reach those people who aren’t really into social media too 🙂 Our dream is also to take our stories outside of south Auckland so that we can combat the negative stereotypes that people often have who are looking in from the outside. 2017 is looking to be very exciting!